Creating an Immediate HIIT
Because HIIT workouts involve short-duration, high-intensity microbursts of activity followed by shorter bouts of active or passive recovery, it is crucial that you choose movements that offer an immediate feeling of intensity and effort. The exercises need to create fatigue that is cumulative over the short duration. Even though the workouts may be only 2 to 4 minutes long, they should be the hardest 2 to 4 minutes of training you can possibly do! Therefore, as the volume of training increases, your efforts should also increase. For this to occur, you need a good understanding of which exercises create an immediate high-intensity effort and which exercise qualities to look for.
Although there are hundreds of choices in addition to those presented here, this chapter simplifies the selection process by describing the qualities a HIIT exercise should contain. Let's take a moment to review two interval formats from chapter 3 (Tabata and hard, harder, hardest).
As described in chapter 3, a max interval is a four-minute Tabata interval using one exercise for maximal intensity and effort. A hard, harder, hardest interval consists of three rounds of the following timing: 40 Seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest; 30 seconds of work with 15 seconds of rest; and 20 seconds of work with only 10 seconds of rest. So the mixed and max intervals consist of 8 rounds, and the hard, harder, hardest intervals consist of 3 rounds. The training intensity is so high that you will not be able to complete more than one max interval in a single workout. If you can, consider increasing the exercise intensity by using the progression options in chapter 9.
As you recall, max interval training involves performing one exercise
for 20 seconds at extreme intensity (i.e., about 170 percent of 
O
2
max) followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated for 4 minutes, totaling eight rounds, or cycles. The max interval represents maximal intensity, or the hardest Tabata protocol you can perform. This approach takes your body to failure as you cross the anaerobic threshold and become extremely fatigued and breathless. In HIIT programs, max intervals are used primarily for muscular power and anaerobic cardio. To qualify as a max interval, exercise should meet the following criteria:
Simple Movements
The joint actions that drive these powerful max-interval movements must be simple to follow, keeping in mind that sometimes less is more. Less complexity in patterns and movements creates less confusion, and simple, powerful exercises are easier to progress and regress, or make more or less manageable, as fatigue overwhelms you.
Major Muscle and Compound Movements
The movement patterns should demonstrate triple flexion. This refers to joint actions or movement at the ankles, knees, and hips. Typically, when these joints are acting simultaneously, the movement is simple and powerful and the largest muscles of the body are likely engaged. When the ankles, knees, and hips are working together, they create vigorous, compound movements requiring significant amounts of energy, which will likely make you breathless.
Bigger and Slower May be Better
Larger ranges of motion performed more slowly may offer you a bigger bang for your buck. Sometimes more energy is needed to move with decreased speed and control, so consider the speed and size of your movements when you are working toward fatigue.
As a general rule, strength movements performed slowly are more challenging, and cardio-based movements performed quickly are more challenging. For example, squat jumps with an elbow drive performed with perfect form and technique can build more strength if executed more slowly and with plenty of control. Use speed for more anaerobic intensity as long as you are still able to control the movement.
Immediate HIIT Factor
The exercises selected for max intervals must create a fatigue response right away. This is not to say that the first or second repetition, or even the first or second round, of the movement should cause you to bend over in breathlessness, but by round 2 or 3, you should notice that the exercise is a challenge, and you should be bordering on crossing, if not almost at or about to cross, your anaerobic threshold. If this is not the case, you are either not working hard enough, or the exercise is not appropriate for a max interval.
Goal Oriented and Standardized
Each of the exercises presented in this book involves a specific action to which you are accountable. For example, for the squat jump with elbow drive, every squat requires that the tips of the elbows make contact with the legs, touching just above the knees when down in the squat. When jumping up, the elbows should drive back and behind the body. These features help to standardize the move, creating accountability for each squat and jump performed. If the squat is done without touching the tips of the elbows to the tops of the knee area, or the elbows fail to drive back and behind the body on the jump, the movement should be slowed down until each repetition meets the criteria. This ensures that your movements are standardized to ensure quality over quantity. It also ensures that you are performing each movement to the best of your ability.
Progressive and Regressive Options
People at all fitness levels should be able to experience every move without limitation for the full duration of the interval. This is why it is important that you choose moves that you can easily regress (make easier or more manageable) or progress (make more challenging and difficult) without significant transition. Therefore, any exercise that is vigorous and can ramp up in intensity very quickly will work for this training program. Chapter 9 offers much more on this subject.
For example, burpees, cycle lunges, speedskaters, and jumping jacks can all be tough, but they can also be regressed so you can finish all eight rounds without putting yourself at risk of injury or quitting. We focus on this very important aspect of HIIT exercise selection in chapter 9.
